Myth of two-thirds fades away

ISLAMABAD - The fall-out of the coalition's collapse is likely to keep on hunting for a long time to come, but as an immediate impact of PML-N's parting ways with the PPP government appears to fade away the so-called myth of two-thirds majority to  restore the Constitution in letter and spirit by legislation. Neither the PPP is now able to ensure two-thirds majority for any of the required constitutional amendments, so to say repealing the 17th Amendment that empowers the President to dissolve Assemblies, nor the PML-N could do so in any case. That also clears out that the PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari is more lured to become the President of the country than to keep the ruling party under his thumb or preferably both. Still one of the apolitical close friends of Zardari revealed that he was in a fix between the choices including the Presidency, the PPP, or otherwise. According to Zardari's friend who requested anonymity, the reason behind Zardari shifted to the Prime Minister's House was that he wanted to rehearse the maintenance of the party control while sitting in Presidency. Zardari has also shared his mind with his friends to reinstall Mukhdoom Amin Fahim as party head while himself becoming all powerful President of Pakistan inheriting almost all the powers that former President Pervez Musharraf enjoyed. However, advisors have warned Zardari against underestimating any of his foes and even friends. Therefore, Zardari's well-known 'unpredictability' remains there even in the case of deciding about the next President. Opting to go on without PML-N, the PPP has also left no doubt about its reluctance to restore the deposed judges. One of the constitutional and legal experts of the ruling PPP told The Nation that from day one it believed that the judges could only be restored through a constitutional amendments package. After the collapse of the ruling coalition, the remaining parties on treasury benches with the PPP on top of them are not in a position to make it two-thirds without PML-N. Notwithstanding the Awami National Party's assurance to stay with Zardari, the JUI-F of Fazlur Rehman, the fourth party in coalition, is most likely to follow the suit of the PML-N. Rehman has already expressed his apprehensions about Zardari's promises to him chiefly regarding talks with Taliban rather than outright use of force. Therefore, Fazlur Rehman has been trumpeting that the military operation in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) was a pressing issue rather than the judges' restoration. No matter whether Mr Zardari is in the Presidency, the PM House, or even in his good old Zardari House, the governing set-up under him would have to face real tough time especially on the law and order front during the days to come. Analysts have already started highlighting the chances of the PML-Q switching over to the treasury benches as new partner of the PPP in government leaving the slot of the Leader of Opposition to the PML-N that would now be the majority party in Opposition. They are, however, unable to rule out individuals or the so-called forward blocs out of the PML-Q joining the PML-N. Either way the PML-Q in totality of its entity would end up in government, after sitting in Opposition for a brief period, either at the Centre or in the Punjab.

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